Korea: Yeongjong Island

On Saturday my friend R and I took a trip out to see our friend B on the island of Yeongjong near Incheon airport. Because there are many swallows on the island, it was also know as Jayeondo ''Swallow'' Island in the past. We had worried that the weather would be cold and possibly wet. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous day. A tad chilly, but it is winter, right?

Yeongjong Island is certainly no tropical getaway. I would be even pushed to say it has the appeal of any of the islands surrounding GB (with the exception of The Principality of Sealand). It does have its hidden gems though, and B's spectacular island tour was a lot of fun!!

Here are some photos (courtesy of R). Enjoy!

This photo was taken at Youngguksa Temple on the island. The zelkova tree is apparently 1,400 years old, and is supprted by scaffolding. I love zelkova trees; there are a lot of them in Korea. Random fact: the zelcova serrata tree is native to East Asia and is used a lot in bonsai.

If you look closely you can see a little Buddha in the hallow of the tree. When we arrived at the temple, a lady was praying in front of the shrine. I always like visiting Buddhist temples; they are so calming.

This is a popular Standing Buddha 'blessing' pose: pose of dispelling fear. OK, I'm a bit geeky when it comes to these things. I have been to Buddha's birthplace in Nepal, and I learnt that each pose represents a teaching or blessing. Specifically, the mudra (hand positions) represent a teaching, or wisdom of Buddha; each mudra corresponds to an important moment in Buddha's life. This hand gesture is the abhaya mudra.

This is a nice picture of inside one of the temples. The lotus lanterns with the prayers written on the dangling papers are hanging from the ceiling...you can just about see them.